Country-Specific External Costs of Abiotic Resource Use Based on User Cost Model in Life Cycle Impact Assessment.

Abstract

Abiotic resources are indispensable in society, but there are concerns regarding their depletion, scarcity, and increasing prices, resulting in potential economic damage in the future. To address these concerns, it is effective to consider the external costs of resource use. Although resource availability is different among mining sites, and local conditions are relevant in assessing resource scarcity, previous studies have assessed external costs and potential impacts of abiotic resource use globally. This study provides country-specific characterization factors (CFs) of abiotic resource use in life cycle impact assessment based on the user cost model, which represents the external costs of abiotic resource use to reflect country-specific resource scarcity. We demonstrate considerable variations in the CFs depending on the mining country, suggesting that the choice of mining country can affect external costs. The global external cost of abiotic resource use in 2020 was estimated at 1.9 trillion $, with a major contribution from the extraction of fossil fuels in the United States. Historical trends of the CFs and relevant parameters showed temporal fluctuations, emphasizing the importance of regularly updating the data underlying the calculation of the CFs. Country-level assessments of the external costs of resource use can contribute to discussions on the responsibilities of consuming countries by incorporating material footprint studies.